Government Funding Drug Companies to Make Vaccines Quicker

The U.S. government plans to spend close to $2 billion in order to pay researchers and biotechnology companies to develop new drugs, vaccines and equipment to shorten the six- to nine-month time frame currently needed to make a flu vaccine.

U.S. health officials plan to persuade more Americans to get vaccinated against the flu this fall. The CDC is recommending flu vaccine for all Americans ages six months and older, except for people with egg allergies and some other conditions.

The Wall Street Journal reported:

“To meet anticipated demand, manufacturers are producing between 160 million and 165 million doses this year, more than ever before ... The CDC is accelerating development of two new tools to speed production of vaccine ...

One involves optimizing seed strains of virus used to make vaccine ... Another is a new method to determine the amount of antigen -- the ingredient that prompts an immune response -- in a vaccine vial.”

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Of all the places $2 billion in government funds could be spent, using it to bring flu vaccines to market faster may be one of the most wasteful uses of that amount of money to date. One dramatic example is the flu shot, which has been proven ineffective time and time again, not to mention the myriad of side effects, some serious, that they cause every year.

Now that would be a strategy that would not only dramatically decrease the flu but also help save lives that are being lost prematurely from a completely preventable condition: vitamin D deficiency.

The government has once again pledged their allegiance to the vaccine makers, and will be supporting them full force this flu season, as they do every year.

What You Need to Know Before the Flu Shot Campaigns Begin …

This year the vaccine manufacturers are making up to 165 million doses of flu vaccine -- more than ever before. To use up this unprecedented supply, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging all Americans over 6 months to get vaccinated, unless they have an allergy to eggs or other limited conditions.

That’s right. Every man, woman and child is expected to line up and roll up their sleeve for the flu shot … which this year contains a mix of three strains of flu -- H1N1 (swine flu), H3N2 (a new variant of seasonal flu) and influenza B.

This is important information to know, because if you had doubts about receiving the experimental swine flu shot last season, it is now being automatically dished out with every flu vaccine in the United States.

Sweden and Finland also recently sounded the alarm because young patients suddenly developed the sleeping disorder narcolepsy after being vaccinated with the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. France, Germany and Norway are now also tallying cases, and the EU has launched an investigation.

But children aren't the only group that seem to react more violently to the trivalent vaccine that contains the H1N1 component.

In the United States, a special government committee has been created to investigate last year's H1N1 monovalent vaccine for signs that it may be associated with a higher rate of certain kinds of reactions. What the committee found out provisionally is that there were three signs of trouble with the H1N1 swine flu vaccine used last year.

"One was Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), which we know has been associated with influenza vaccine since 1976 when the first swine flu vaccine was used. There is [also] a sign of a blood disorder called thrombocytopenia. Thrombocytopenia is when your blood cannot produce enough platelets. It's an autoimmune type reaction.

The other is Bell's palsy. That's a facial paralysis. It's a neuroimmune reaction.

The government is saying they don't know if these are true signals or not, but there were some red flags that were raised."

Unfortunately, instead of using the $2 billion in funding for further testing to make sure the vaccine is safe considering blatant “red flags” have already been raised, the government is moving full-steam ahead with their plans for a three-in-one flu shot this season, and is even paying the drug companies to figure out how to bring it out even faster.

You’ve probably already seen the signs at your local drug store advertising they’re here … and this is only the beginning.

All the Risk … for No Benefit?

You should know that anytime you receive a flu shot, you are taking a risk. In order to get the perceived benefit that you or your family is being protected from the flu (which is only a perception, as I’ll explain below), you are being injected with numerous substances even above and beyond the three flu viruses -- substances with known risks to your health.

So every year that you get a flu shot, you are taking a risk that one or more of these substances, or the flu viruses themselves, will cause a problem in your body.

The payoff you get for taking this risk?

Well, the pharmaceutical industry would love for you to believe that the flu vaccine is going to somehow magically protect you from dying from the flu.

But in fact the evidence couldn't be clearer -- the flu vaccine doesn't work at all in the elderly, and the data is flimsy at best when it comes to children and adults. In other words, you’re taking all the risk for little to no benefit.

For instance, one recent review looked at the effectiveness of immunizing nursing-home workers to protect the elderly in their care. After reviewing five studies conducted between 1997 and 2009, the results show the vaccination campaigns had NO EFFECT on the number of confirmed influenza cases.

The researchers also concluded that vaccinating staff has no proven impact on reducing the number of related pneumonia cases, or pneumonia-linked deaths -- which, by the way, accounts for the vast majority of what the CDC counts as “flu deaths.”

Said lead researcher Dr. Roger Thomas:

"What troubled us is that [shots] had no effect on laboratory-confirmed influenza.

What we were looking for is proof that influenza ... is decreased. Didn't find it.

We looked for proof that pneumonia is reduced. Didn't find it.

We looked for proof deaths from pneumonia are reduced. Didn't find it."

This is only one example of many. Study after study continue to show that flu vaccines are virtually useless for preventing illness and mortality from the flu, and you can read about five more such examples here.

Let’s Get Real: Here’s What You Really Need to Do to Prevent the Flu

There is a massive attempt to defraud and deceive people to generate profits from flu vaccines, and the U.S. government is helping to fund and promote this system.

Fortunately, we are able to penetrate this veil of misinformation, as we did so effectively last year during the swine flu campaign. Last year the United States contracted for the manufacture of over 170 million doses of swine flu vaccine. Probably the most significant accomplishment of this Web site was that we were able to contribute to the fact that only 90 million doses were used in the United States.

This year, we want to start early by warning people about the new plan ... and the safer alternative … so the number of people exposed to potentially harmful and useless flu vaccines drops even lower.

I urge you to take your time and really make an informed decision before you rush to get this year’s flu shot for yourself or your family, and while you’re at it, tune in to the latest studies on vitamin D, which are strengthening the evidence that it is a potent preventive measure against colds and influenza.

There is so much compelling evidence that I believe optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of ALL kinds, including the flu.

As one recent study showed, a group of children taking vitamin D3 was 58 percent less likely to catch influenza A. That's a higher effectiveness than any flu vaccine can claim, and doesn't come with a barrage of potentially devastating side effects!

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.